I am trying to figure that out too, although with you sal I think you know the answer :) But, I am trying to let go of the negtive past circumstances (financial decisions)and all of that negative self talk that comes along with it, and retrain myself so that my future can be positive.

Now, when I think of the past and 'what not to do', I also have negative emotions that correspond with that. So, do I just move on knowing that I need to think successfully and think of myself as a wonderfully successful person and not let myself 'go-there'? Because in actuality, I believe the lesson is ingrained in my psychi now so perhaps revisiting my mistakes is not necessary. Hmmm.

Glad I have friends here who are better students of this stuff I am just learning.

I think it is important to remember what went wrong and why so that we can prevent them from occurring again. Whether it be a situation where a business failed....or a break down in a relationship or personal financial collaps. Everything can be analyzed and we can make the changes to prevent the same kind of thing from happening again. Maybe we just should forget the things that tie us to the negative like fear, anger, emotions that corresponded to the problem. But remember the behavior that lead us to the problem.

Once I was asked if there was anything in my past that I regretted. My answer was NO.

I have to admit that I was not an angel, but the past experiences formed and made me who I am today. Although some of the experiences were not so nice, I learned from them, modified my views and moved on.

In a way each day is a new beginning. Each day we awaken we have a new purpose or something new to learn. Each day that we dwell on a past experience, not learning something new from it, is a day of overlooking new opportunities. Each day that we only focus on future potential events, is a day that we spent overlooking the new paths that are opening for us today.

Hello all, great topic, releasing the past, but what part of the past do we release? We would not be here today if it wasn't for the past experiences that brought us here, and what did we learn from the past is important to ask as well. We do not forget the past, but we can forgive ourselves for being human and making mistakes along the way. The negative energy which we carry along with us does not lift us up, but does drag us down. Our pain, some enjoy wearing it like a badge of honor, but what did we learn and why do we need the pain to keep learning the same lesson? I found the answer for myself was I built walls to make myself feel secure, but this was my illusion, not reality. As long as I kept the walls up, the illusion remained but so did the pain and until I could forgive myself for making a mistake and stopped blaming outside influences for the cause of my pain, I could not begin tearing down the walls, destorying the illusions of security.

Did that make any sense to you? From my perspective, it was not beneficial to my being to carry along the past negative energy, but I did and do try to learn the lessons about who I am, and how I feel about life, and self, and Creator. It is this relationship between self and Creator that determines how I think and feel about my existence in this plane of awareness. When I could view myself as One with Creator and all existence, life became much more fulfilling and joyful, and Loving, within and without. So we live, we learn and we change, grow, and find Self within and without.

There are times in my life where I feel that I could have handled things a little better. And I regret that I did not follow a path that would have made things easier for everyone.

I regret too losing my two brothers to horrible deaths, and not being the son that my father wanted me to be.

Yes, I can forgive myself, and I can release the fear and negativity associated with almost everything I have been through in my life; but can I honestly sit back and say, "I have absolutely no regrets over anything that has happened in my life?"

In truth, the answer is, "No"

I do not allow these regrets to overwhelm me or control my actions in the present, but they still exist

Each experience is a lesson. Perhaps the letting go is for the pain of the journey - when we struggle against change there is always pain. The secret is....release the pain, keep the lesson's message. That is called experience!